Travel these days is challenging, but credit cards with travel insurance can offset a host of headaches. The best rewards credit cards will reimburse customers that have lost or delayed baggage, missed connections or canceled trips. Some cards even pay survivors in case of death or dismemberment.
A recent study by WalletHub evaluated 66 of the best credit cards with travel insurance across three broad categories: luggage insurance, travel accident insurance, and eligibility, cost and extra coverage.
Many cards that used to offer travel insurance have reduced or eliminated coverage. In fact, WalletHub found that only 24% of the consumer credit cards they studied offered trip cancellation insurance. And cards issued by Wells Fargo, Citi, Discover and Synchrony provide no travel insurance coverage.
Chase Bank has been positioning its Sapphire-branded travel cards as leaders in the competitive arena of low-fee and premium travel credit cards. So it's no surprise that the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit cards both score highest in the study. Here are areas where the cards beat the competition, with the maximum coverage amount by category.
New regulations protect you. Thanks to new federal regulations, U.S. consumers have more protections when flying. These rules require airlines to refund customers for U.S. flights canceled for certain reasons beyond a passenger’s control. Airline customers also have more rights when their flights are delayed. The rules are complicated, so be sure you refer to the Department of Transportation’s refund guidelines.
The airline industry is stepping up. In more good news for travelers, the new regulations spurred industry improvements; nine airlines changed their policies to guarantee coverage of hotels and ten airlines to guarantee meals for stranded passengers.
Weigh your options for expensive trips. Still, for expensive or risky trips, you will want to assess your credit card's travel insurance benefits. If you find them wanting, purchasing extra travel insurance might be worth it. The average cost of all single-trip travel insurance policies bought on the travel insurance site Squaremouth is $308. That average hides a wide variation in costs. Comprehensive plans, for example, include trip cancellation coverage and run at an average of $403, while travel medical plans cost $97 on average.
Ellen writes and edits personal finance stories, especially on credit cards and related products. She also covers the nexus between sustainability and personal finance. She was a manager and sustainability analyst at Calvert Investments for 15 years, focusing on climate change and consumer staples. She served on the sustainability councils of several Fortune 500 companies and led corporate engagements. Before joining Calvert, Ellen was a program officer for Winrock International, managing loans to alternative energy projects in Latin America. She earned a master’s from the U.C. Berkeley in international relations and Latin America.
